On Sept. 4, 2011, Women’s Voices Women Speak, Ann Wright, and a few friends gathered at the Korean Consulate of Hawai’i to hold a vigil in solidarity with peace activists on Jeju Island. This action was catalyzed by the current military and police encroachment on the Peace Camp at Gangjeong Village, Jeju. As we prepared for this event, Ann Wright reported back on her recent trip to Jeju Island. Despite the fact that Jeju island activists are being arrested and harassed for protecting the island from the naval base construction occurring on the island, they continue to protest.

Women’s Voices Women Speak read the International Women’s Network Against Militarism letter of support to Jeju Island activists to contextualize the vigil. They left messages of opposition to the Naval Base at Jeju on the Korean Consulate compound. Some wrote letters to the Korean Consulate. The Naval base on Jeju is to house Aegis destroyers, equipped with U.S. anti-ballistic missile and radar systems. This construction matters to Hawai’i because the Barking Sands Pacific Missile Range on the island of Kaua’i is also part of the anti-ballistic missile defense system network. In 2009, Hawai’i Senator Daniel Inouye pushed for funding for Aegis Ashore test facility at Barking Sands. Women’s Voices Women Speak stand in solidarity with peoples of Jeju island to expose how Asian and Pacific island nations are being used to connect networks of U.S. Military weaponry.